Watermelon: A Glimmer of Hope

A Glimmer of Hope
by Eve Coleman, 1992

Okay, maybe,
Just maybe
I’ve been looking
at the shoes
all wrong.

Perhaps they’re
Not worn out.

Perhaps once more
I can replace the
Heavy woolen socks
With watermelon shoes.

So what if the shoes
Are a little worse for wear?
Fading semicircles
Are barely discernible
To the casual eye.

Few really look
Beneath to see
The worn out sole

And those who do
Are content to see
A hint of what once was--
Bright green rind
Cushioning hot pink fruit.

Those who do
Look beneath the surface
Celebrate the sole below
Replete with rends and tears.

It is for them,
Those who
Celebrate my soul,
That I will drag
The well worn shoes
Around on wobbly legs
Until the cobblers tell me
They have sewn their last stitch.